Summay:
"Helping Struggling Students" was written by Klea Scharberg for Educational Leadership. She writes "regardless of teachers' best intentions and practices, some students will always face an uphill battle to meet expected standards." This article discusses the different factors that weigh into a student's stress and struggles in their educaitonal studies. Some may be study habits, life circumstances, poor awareness of what the teacher expects, and disablilities and impairments. Graduation requirements are not always clear to students and may cause them not to succeed as well as they are capable of. Different supplements are being made available for students who are struggling in subjects or organization. "Students identified as at risk often receive a watered-down curriculum that emphasizes basic skills." In high school, there is sometimes an exit exam that students are not properly prepared for. This effects the graduation rate.
Reaction:
The first quote by Scharberg refers to students not having the motivation to put in extreme amounts of effort, caused by standards that seem impossible to the students. It is true that there are many factors that play into the struggles of any student, however, I believe that a large factor is the lack of explanation of the standards that need to be met in a school. If graduation requirements are not always made clear to the educators, they will not be therefore conveyed to the students by any means. This creates confusion among the students. When students are said to be at risk and receive a "watered-down" curriculum, this could be an advantage to the student involved. They may be able to pass their classes more easily. It also could have a negative effect on the other students who do not believe it is fair and therefore do not put in as much effort as they could.
Summary:
"For me, the greatest national security crisis in the United States is the crisis in education." This quote is Bob Herbert's main focus for his article. He states that the average rate of students dropping out of high school is equal to one out of every 26 seconds. Only about a third of the students that actually graduate from high school, however, are actually prepared enough to attend a four-year college. "Internalized tests have shown American kids to be falling well behind their peers."
Reaction:
The average rate of students dropping out is shocking. I had no idea that so many students dropped out each year. Many of the students that actually graduate from high school are not completely prepared for a four-year institution. I believe that this is due to the lack of standardization amongst schools. We live in a country where not all states and schools have any of the same standards. How can we expect students to learn and succeed in college if someone who went to a certain school has less of an advantage because their high school had a low graduation rate and teachers who were not completely fit their job? Students are falling behind their peers because they are not aware of what they need to pass and do the minimum so they can pass by the standards they even know about.
Summary:
Catherine Gewertz summarizes the progress report that was created to regulate graduation requirements. The NGA says that a total of 33 states will be on board for this movement during 2010. Also, by 2011, it is expected that 12 more states will join. It is called the Graduation Counts compact and consists of four criteria. The states that sign agree to (1) implement a standard, four-year graduation rate, (2) lead more efforts towards collecting and reporting data with analyses that will link data from preschool through secondary education, (3) take steps toward keeping students aware of how the system works and create more indicators to show this information, and (4) report annual progress on the improvement of their high school graduation and dropout rate. Some states have the fear that if they sign the compact, their graduation rates will actually drop.
Reaction:
I believe that the NGA is on the right track for helping students be more aware of how their school is performing. However, I think that the government needs to create a plan in which they standardize graduation requirements nation-wide. I believe that many students are dropping out and many do not try because the graduation requirements are constantly changing. If every school had the same requirements, students that graduated would be at the same level as each other. Students wouldn't go on to a college and fail because they are not properly prepared.
Summary:
This article, written Kathy Koch, begins by staing that "academic achievement can be improved by establishing rigorous statewide education standards and then by developing parallel curriculums and tests." This article was written in 1999, when Bill Clinton was still in office for the presidency of the United States. His administration is said to have wanted to established national standards and tests so that parents, administrators, and educators would be aware of what they needed to convey to students and how to do that well, while still giving local schools flexibility. A school's accreditation gives them the permission to continue their educational institution. If the scores lower, they are given a few years to raise them. In 1999, 40 states had standards for their educational processes. For example, Rhode Island had a standard of four "core" subjects, namely english, social studies, math, and science. Eight states had standards in at least one subject. One state had standards under deveolpment, and the last state, Iowa, had no plans to develop standards.
Reaction:
Although this article was written in 1999, it brings some very good viewpoints to the situation at hand for graduation requirements. Bill Clinton and his administration tried to establish some national standards for some school. Many states have regulated a standard of class requirements. I believe that the core classes are important to a student's education. There are some states, however, that only standardize one class which I believe is not the correct path to take if they are trying to make their students well-rounded for colleges, other further education, careers, and life in general. I believe that the accreditation of a school should be given under strict requirements. The heart of succession is education. The government needs to create a policy that regulates a certain amount of education that each student should receive. With that, well qualified teachers should be assessed. Many times, students are not failing or trying because of a lack of motivation, but because of the lack for good teaching techniques of their educator. Overall, I believe that the United States is on the right track but needs to continue with their plan to reform the educational system of the United States in order to keep producing successful men and women nationwide.
Research Question: What classes are students required to take before graduation and is this being regulated?
Contributed by: Briana Paulo
1. Klea Scharberg, “Helping Struggling Students,” Educational Leadership 63, no. 5 (February 2006), http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb06/vol63/num05/Helping_Struggling_Students.aspx.
Summay:
"Helping Struggling Students" was written by Klea Scharberg for Educational Leadership. She writes "regardless of teachers' best intentions and practices, some students will always face an uphill battle to meet expected standards." This article discusses the different factors that weigh into a student's stress and struggles in their educaitonal studies. Some may be study habits, life circumstances, poor awareness of what the teacher expects, and disablilities and impairments. Graduation requirements are not always clear to students and may cause them not to succeed as well as they are capable of. Different supplements are being made available for students who are struggling in subjects or organization. "Students identified as at risk often receive a watered-down curriculum that emphasizes basic skills." In high school, there is sometimes an exit exam that students are not properly prepared for. This effects the graduation rate.
Reaction:
The first quote by Scharberg refers to students not having the motivation to put in extreme amounts of effort, caused by standards that seem impossible to the students. It is true that there are many factors that play into the struggles of any student, however, I believe that a large factor is the lack of explanation of the standards that need to be met in a school. If graduation requirements are not always made clear to the educators, they will not be therefore conveyed to the students by any means. This creates confusion among the students. When students are said to be at risk and receive a "watered-down" curriculum, this could be an advantage to the student involved. They may be able to pass their classes more easily. It also could have a negative effect on the other students who do not believe it is fair and therefore do not put in as much effort as they could.
2. Bob Herbert, “In Search of Education Leaders,” NY Times, December 4, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/opinion/05herbert.html?_r=1.
Summary:
"For me, the greatest national security crisis in the United States is the crisis in education." This quote is Bob Herbert's main focus for his article. He states that the average rate of students dropping out of high school is equal to one out of every 26 seconds. Only about a third of the students that actually graduate from high school, however, are actually prepared enough to attend a four-year college. "Internalized tests have shown American kids to be falling well behind their peers."
Reaction:
The average rate of students dropping out is shocking. I had no idea that so many students dropped out each year. Many of the students that actually graduate from high school are not completely prepared for a four-year institution. I believe that this is due to the lack of standardization amongst schools. We live in a country where not all states and schools have any of the same standards. How can we expect students to learn and succeed in college if someone who went to a certain school has less of an advantage because their high school had a low graduation rate and teachers who were not completely fit their job? Students are falling behind their peers because they are not aware of what they need to pass and do the minimum so they can pass by the standards they even know about.
3. Catherine Gerwertz, “A Look at States' Progress Toward a Common Graduation Rate: Progress Report,” Education Week, July 27, 2009,
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high-school-connections/2009/07/progress_toward_a_common_gradu.html?qs=high+school+graduation+requirements.
&
“Graduation Counts: A Compact on State High School,” NGA Center for Best Practices, July 17, 2005, http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.9123e83a1f6786440ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f57c04493f5bc010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD.
Summary:
Catherine Gewertz summarizes the progress report that was created to regulate graduation requirements. The NGA says that a total of 33 states will be on board for this movement during 2010. Also, by 2011, it is expected that 12 more states will join. It is called the Graduation Counts compact and consists of four criteria. The states that sign agree to (1) implement a standard, four-year graduation rate, (2) lead more efforts towards collecting and reporting data with analyses that will link data from preschool through secondary education, (3) take steps toward keeping students aware of how the system works and create more indicators to show this information, and (4) report annual progress on the improvement of their high school graduation and dropout rate. Some states have the fear that if they sign the compact, their graduation rates will actually drop.
Reaction:
I believe that the NGA is on the right track for helping students be more aware of how their school is performing. However, I think that the government needs to create a plan in which they standardize graduation requirements nation-wide. I believe that many students are dropping out and many do not try because the graduation requirements are constantly changing. If every school had the same requirements, students that graduated would be at the same level as each other. Students wouldn't go on to a college and fail because they are not properly prepared.
Kathy Koch, “CQ Researcher: National Education Standards” 9, no. 18 (May 14, 1999), http://0-library.cqpress.com.helin.uri.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1999051400.
Summary:
This article, written Kathy Koch, begins by staing that "academic achievement can be improved by establishing rigorous statewide education standards and then by developing parallel curriculums and tests." This article was written in 1999, when Bill Clinton was still in office for the presidency of the United States. His administration is said to have wanted to established national standards and tests so that parents, administrators, and educators would be aware of what they needed to convey to students and how to do that well, while still giving local schools flexibility. A school's accreditation gives them the permission to continue their educational institution. If the scores lower, they are given a few years to raise them. In 1999, 40 states had standards for their educational processes. For example, Rhode Island had a standard of four "core" subjects, namely english, social studies, math, and science. Eight states had standards in at least one subject. One state had standards under deveolpment, and the last state, Iowa, had no plans to develop standards.
Reaction:
Although this article was written in 1999, it brings some very good viewpoints to the situation at hand for graduation requirements. Bill Clinton and his administration tried to establish some national standards for some school. Many states have regulated a standard of class requirements. I believe that the core classes are important to a student's education. There are some states, however, that only standardize one class which I believe is not the correct path to take if they are trying to make their students well-rounded for colleges, other further education, careers, and life in general. I believe that the accreditation of a school should be given under strict requirements. The heart of succession is education. The government needs to create a policy that regulates a certain amount of education that each student should receive. With that, well qualified teachers should be assessed. Many times, students are not failing or trying because of a lack of motivation, but because of the lack for good teaching techniques of their educator. Overall, I believe that the United States is on the right track but needs to continue with their plan to reform the educational system of the United States in order to keep producing successful men and women nationwide.